My name is Elizabeth Brown. I am from South Carolina. We have lived here since before the country was founded. I have a mother, father, and one younger brother. I start my days early, yet the work is rewarding.

My family and I are sharecroppers who work on a cotton farm. We work the land with our black neighbors. They are a huge help, but recently, other members of our community have been acting badly towards them. They told us yesterday they are leaving to go up North.

We need more and more help these days. The work days keep getting longer with no profit increase. The cost of rail tickets to ship our crops is through the roof because railroad magnates know we need to buy tickets, no matter the price.

The government hasn't regulated them yet. Farmers keep asking, yet no change is happening. My father wants to go to the next protest in the nation's capital, but my mom won't let him. Last time, protesters were shot and a bomb was thrown!

My father and brother have started supporting the People's Party. They support farmers and want to make farming affordable again. They also more government regulation and involvement in breaking up trusts

I wish I could vote. I want to see change in this country. The People's Party is starting to gain traction, as well as the Women's Suffrage Movement. Waiting is hard, but I know it will be worth it in the end.

A few weeks ago, I went into town trying to find work to better support the farm. Unfortunately, either no one would hire a woman or the conditions and pay were terrible. The nearby city is too far away to commute to , so my options are limited to what is in town, which is nothing.

So sharecropping it is. It's harder nowadays for farmers, as fertilizers, seeds, train tickets, and equipment are all much more expensive. We want to switch from gold backing to silver so it is easier to get credit.

The issue is all the robber barons control the gold. It is too scarce, so we can have more control with silver because it is more abundant. If things stay the way they are, we will have to sell the farm.

10 years have passed. My family and I were forced to sell the farm. We could no longer afford to run it and we were going into debt. Since I recently turned 19, my family decided it was time I go off and live on my own. They paid for my train ticket to New York City and I was off!